SID ROBINSON fought for his country in World War II to give us the freedom we enjoy today.

Now society has repaid him by making him a prisoner in his own home for the past nine months.

Thanks to a lack of action by Liverpool social services, Mr Robinson, who is disabled, cannot walk out of his house on his own.

The only trips out he gets are the monthly ambulance journeys to hospital for blood tests.

Burma veteran Mr Robinson, 85, should have a special lift to help him down the three steps of the front door of his home in Garnett Avenue, Kirkdale.

All he needs is a visit from a social services occuptional therapist and a signature to confirm that he must have the step lift installed.

But that process has not taken place since Mr Robinson pleaded for help in March.

When approached by ECHO Action, Liverpool council said that Mr Robinson had not made it clear he was unable to get out of his house.

But today he and his daily carer said that was not true.

The carer, who has spoken to the ECHO but does not want to be identified, said she has regularly told social services that he is desperate for a step lift.

Mr Robinson's doctor has also asked Liverpool social services to visit him.

The council has now said it will look at the situation again if it is evident that Mr Robinson is trapped in the house.

Today ECHO Action presents that evidence for them.

Mr Robinson, who fought in the bitter Burma campaign against the Japanese, has been largely immobile since 2001 when he suffered an inoperable hernia.

After taking a turn for the worse earlier this year, he has been totally trapped. He cannot go up or down steps or stairs.

So he spends most of his days sitting in an armchair.

It is plain for social services to see - if they paid him a visit.

It was their assessors who considered him to be a suitable enough case when they gave the go ahead for a special walk-in shower, handrails on the stairs and a stairlift, which have already been fitted.

Mr Robinson, who contacted ECHO Action for help, said: "Every time I ring them, the people on the other end of the line say I ama priority. But still nobody comes round.

"If I am a priority why have I been waiting for so long? It costs them nothing to come out, they've been before so why can't they come again?"

The work needs to be authorised by a social services occupational therapist before Mr Robinson's housing association, which installed the previous improvements, can begin the job.

He added: "All I want is the opportunity to get out around the local park, is that too much to ask?"

The situation was today branded a disgrace by the Burma Star Association, which represents veterans of the World War ll campaign.

George Hickman, seceretary of the assocition in Liverpool, said: "This is a deplorable situation to find himself in, but sadly there are many ex-servicemen neglected in this fashion."

Mr Robinson is not a member of the association, although he has the Burma star medal.

Mr Hickman said he would visit him personally to see if he would like to join and become involved in the association's activities.

"If we can organise transport for him and manage to get him out of the house then maybe he would like to join and come along to our meetings," he said.

A spokesman for Liverpool council said: "We will get out to see him in the next few days and if his mobility has deteriorated we will look again at his case to see if there is anything we can do to help."

We look forward to hearing good news on behalf of Mr Robinson.

Pensioner 'can't get proper wash' > > >>

>Pensioner 'can't get proper wash'>

A PENSIONER has not had a bath in her home for a year after a council failed to make changes to her house, her family claim.

Wheelchair-bound Elsie Payne, 84, was told that alterations would be made to her home so she could take a bath.

After a year of waiting her family say the council told her it does not have the money to do the work.

Mrs Payne, who suffers from arthritis, said: "It's been terrible. Not to be able to get a proper wash in my own home is dreadful.

"I can't believe the council say they can't help me."

Mrs Payne lives with her son Peter, a cleaner, in Cook Road, Leasowe, Wirral.

The family were told by the council that a lift would be installed in the living room of the house which would take the pensioner up into her bedroom.

The wall between the bathroom and toilet would be knocked down to make one larger bathroom.

Mr Payne, 59, said: "At the moment the bathroom is too small.

" It needs to be big enough to get mum in and two other people to get her into the bath.

"Carers come in four times a day to see to mum and have to wash her using a flannel and a bowl of water.

"We take mum round to neighbours who let us bath her in their bathrooms which are bigger than ours.

"But it means dragging her upstairs in the wheelchair which is not easy.

" We are extremely disappointed over the way the council have treated us. My mum deserves better than this."

But a spokeswoman for Wirral council insisted Mrs Payne's application for modifications had not been turned down.

She said: "The team is presently processing her application for a Disabled Facilities Grant.

"There are a number of processes that need to be completed before this can be approved. There is an extremely high demand for this grant with what are limited resources.

"We work with social services to examine individuals' needs and requirements."